Listen to this articleReading, MA — After a parade through the center of town, Reading residents gathered at Laurel Hill Cemetery on Monday morning to remember and reflect upon those who sacrificed their lives in service to our country. After an invocation by U.S. Navy veteran Father Steven Zukus, the Reading Memorial High School (RMHS) band opened the ceremony by playing the national anthem as the honor guard of the Reading Police Department presented the colors nearby.
State Representative Richard Haggarty read Governor Healy’s proclamation for Memorial Day, followed by Raymond Boyd reading General Logan’s orders regarding the remembrance of those who had fallen. After this, the RMHS band played America the Beautiful.
Town Manager Fidel Maltez reminded the crowd why they were there. “We gather to celebrate the courageous men and women of our armed forces who gave their lives to our nation,” Maltez said. “They demonstrated bravery guided by a strong sense of duty and love for their neighbors.”
Maltez then extolled the crowd to use this example as a reminder of everything Reading should be speaking about: selflessness, service to others, striving for justice, and equality and unity within the community. After Maltez, Reading scout Jack Nelson read “In Flanders Field.”
State Representative Bradley Jones said that “freedom is not free.” He cited the 1.4 million people who have died in service to the country, including over 37,000 from Massachusetts.
“America is not a perfect country,” Jones continued. “But it is a great country because it is always striving to live up to its founder’s ideals, always bending its arc towards justice.”
Jones concluded, reminding the crowd, “It is incumbent on us to always remember, not just today, but every day, the many sacrifices made to preserve freedom and democracy throughout this great nation.”
Select Board member Christopher Haley quoted General George Patton, “It is foolish to mourn the men who die; rather, we should thank God such men lived.” He then handed the podium to RMHS 2020 graduate Autumn Hendrickson who related the story of Reading resident Richard Austin who graduated from Reading High School in 1939 and joined the U.S. Army in 1943.
Austin trained as a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division and made combat jumps on Normandy on D-Day and into the Netherlands as part of Operation Market Garden in September 1944. Austin was killed in battle due to mortar fire, interred in Holand, and later moved to Laurel Hill Cemetery in Reading. “Six feet beneath that placard lies the remains of one of Reading’s great heroes,” Hendrickson proclaimed. “and one little boy who grew up at 180 Prescott Street.”
Jill Mayberry read the Honor Roll of those Reading veterans who have passed away since Memorial Day 2022, followed by U.S. Air Force veteran Bill Brown who spoke, leading people through a tour of the many memorials, schools, and parks named for or honoring those from Reading who served in the armed forces.
The RMHS band then played The Battle Hymn of the Republic. The ceremony concluded with two solo trumpets playing TAPS.
Similar ceremonies were held at Reading’s other three cemeteries throughout the morning.
